Extrusion scalping die



Sept. 7, 1954 G. ANsEl. 2,688,400

EXTRUSION SCALPING DIE Filed Nov. l, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. efhafdA/e/ ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 7, 1954 EXTRUSION SCALPING DIE Gerhard Ansel, Midland, Mich., assigner to The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application November 1, 195o, serial No. 193,393

3 Claims.

1 The invention relates to an improved method of and apparatus for the hot Working of metal. It more particularly-concerns an improved extrusion apparatus in which heated cast ingot is formed into extrudes which are free from the 5 contamination is avoided. usual contaminants derived from the casting The invention will now be more fully described skin on the ingot. and illustrated in connection with the annexed In the case of the readily oxidizable metals, drawing in which: particularly magnesium and the magnesium- Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section showbase alloys, the outside layer or skin of the ingcts l ing an extrusion press embodying the invention. cast for the charge of the extrusion press is in- Fig. k2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevavariably contaminated with oxide. The outside tion partly in section of a portion of Fig. 1 layer of the ingots also has other defects, such showing the scalping die in operation. as folds and laps as Well as blow holes, particu- Fig. 3 is a view of the scalping die from the larly when the ingots are made by the direct l' ingot entering end. chill casting method. The thickness oi this con- Fg. 4 is a section through the Scalloing die on taminating layer oftentimes is as much aS the line 4 4 0f Fg- 3. inch. Before sound uncontaminated extrudes Fig. 5 is a Section through the Scalping die. can be made from cast ingot, it is necessary to on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3. f remove the outer layer and form a substantially Fg- 6 iS a Section through the Scalping diev level surface. This removal of `the outer layer on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3. is termed scalpingj and, in the case of cylin- Fig. '7 is an isometric view of an ingot Dle-` drical ingots, is performed by turning the ingot pared With the apparatus Shown. in a lathe between centers and` taking a cut In the several views, like numerals designate which is about 1/2 to 1% of an inch so as to 25 like Dartsexpose clean sound metal and form a level sur- The eXtluSion DleSS Shown iS Conventionalface on the scalped ingot. It comprises a bed plate l on which is mounted Not only is this operation time consuming but the hydraulic cylinder 2 and header 3 for supit also involves additional labor and Waste of porting the extrusion die d. The header 3 andI metal occasioned in providing the centering holes hydraulic cylinder 2 are tied together by the IOdS for supporting the ingot in the lathe.v These 5. Piston 6 operates in the hydraulic cylinder holes usually have a depth and diameter of 1 and carries the ram l. Backed up by die l is to 2 inches. A particular disadvantage of these the extrusion container 8 Supported by tie l'odS holes is that they give rise to blistering in the 5 so that the axis of the bore t of the container extrudes due to air and foreign matter (e. g, is in alignment with the long axis of the ram 1. lubricant) therein trapped. In hydraulic cylinders lil operate pistons (not It is the principal object of the invention to shown) connected t0 piston rods il, the outel provide an extrusion apparatus by which the ends of which are secured tothe piston t and scalping of the ingot to be extruded is eeoted as serve to retract the piston 6 after its working a part of the extrusion operation, thereby ob- Stroke. Mounted upon bed plate l between the viating additional handling and machining of container 8 and ram 'l is the ingot elevator I2` the ingot as well as the necessity for drilling having a rotatably platform I3 for Supporting centering holes and their attendant contamian ingot I4 in position to begin the Scalpng nants. operation, as shown in Fig. 1.

The foregoing and related objects of the in- The scalping die, indicated generally by nuvention are attained by placing at the mouth of meral i5. iS ShoW-o mounted 0n the Charging end the extrusion container a scalping die, the cutl5 of the Container 8. It comprises a ring Shaped ting edge of which donnes the opening through member Il having a tapered bore It. The larger, the die. The opening is made smaller than the open end i9 of the bore terminates in a plane cross section of the unscalped ingot and the face 20, the smaller open end 2l in a circular opening of the container, and by forcing the Cutting edge 22. The outer face 23 of the ring ingot, by means of the ram of the extrusion press, adjacent to the cutting edge slopes downwardly through the die into the container, the outside and outwardly from the bore to form a buttress layer of the ingot is sheared oif as the ingot 24 for the cutting edge. Between the buttress 2li enters the container of the extrusion press; The and the cylindrical outer face 25 of the ring resulting scalped ingot is the proper size for the arate machining and reheating operation and is a plane annular surface 26 on which is mounted a number of guides 21 which are secured to the ring I1 by bolts 28. The guides are provided with a tenori 29 which fits into a groove 39 in the annular surface 26 to prevent the guides from twisting. A ring 3l is fastened by bolts 32 to the upper end of each guide to provide added strength. As shown, the lower portion of the inside of each guide, adjacent to the cutting edge 22, is provided with an inwardly facing V-shaped cutting edge 33. The inside of the outer end portion of the guides before the cutting edge 33 is provided with a guide surface 34, the plane of each of which is tangent to the circumference of the ingot to be extruded and parallel to the axis of the container. The diameter of the opening of the scalping die at the cutting edge 22 is smaller than that of the ingot by the amount of the thickness of surface metal to be removed from the ingot.

Mounted on the ring member I1 between a pair of adjacent guides is a grooving tool 35 for forming a longitudinal shallow groove in the side of the ingot. The grooving tool is secured to the ring member I1 by bolt 36. The grooving tool is provided with a tenon 31 which nts into groove 30, thereby preventing the tool from twisting. As shown, the tool 35 is provided with a cutting edge 38 projecting inwardly a short distance beyond the cutting edge 22.

In operation, the ingot to be hot worked, as by extrusion, is first heated to a suitable plastic deformation temperature, as between about 650 and 850 F. in the case of the magnesium-base alloys of the compositions ordinarily used in making articles by hot working. The suitably heated ingot is placed upon the platform I3 and the platform elevated or lowered, if necessary, by elevator I2 until the axis of the ingot is aligned with the axis of the container bore 9. Shown in this position is an ingot I4 of Fig. 1.

The ram 1 is then advanced, by the piston 6 actuated by hydraulic cylinder 2, so as to force the ingot while hot through the ring 3I and past the guide surfaces 34 which keep the ingot in alignment with the bore of the container B. As the ingot continues to advance, it meets the cutting edge 22 of the scalping die I5 as well as the cutting edges 33 at the bottom of the guides, and the cutting edge 38 of the grooving tool 35. The cutting edge 22 chisels olf the outer layer of the ingot. The metal thus removed becomes split into curled bands 39 by the cutters 33. At the same time, grooving tool 35 forms a longitudinal groove 40 in the scalped surface 4I of the ingot, the metal from the groove forming the chip 42. As the scalping and grooving take place, the hot scalped ingot enters the extrusion container with a clean surface ready for the extrusion operation which is conducted in the usual manner by advancing the ram 1 a sufficient distance into the bore 9 to cause the ingot metal to be extruded from the die of the extrusion press.

The groove 40 is made in the ingot for the purpose of facilitating the escape of air which tends to get trapped between the wall of the bore of the container and the smooth scalped surface of the ingot. A suitable size for the groove is about 1/ inch wide and 1A; inch deep.

Among the advantages of the invention are that the metal removed from the ingot in the scalping operation is in massive bands which are more readily salvageable with less melting loss than the turnings produced in conventional scalping; a. closer fit of the scalped ingot and the extrusion container is obtained because the scalped ingot is hot and does not change dimensions due to the wide temperature changes to which conventionally scalped billets are subjected on being reheated after turning; the need for drilling centering holes in the ingot is eliminated and attendant metal loss obviated; the need for a separate machine for scalping is obviated; reheating the ingots after scalping is eliminated because the scalping is done while the ingot is at hot working temperature; a cleaner ingot surface is obtained because the freshly scalped metal surface is at heat and exposed to the air for only a short time before the extrusion operation; the time required for scalping by this method is drastically reduced.

Although there is shown. as a preferred embodiment of the invention, the hot working of ingot in cylindrical form and therewith a circular scalping die, it will be understood that the invention may be applied to ingot having other cross-sectional forms such as oval rectangular, etc. by employing a scalping die opening having a corresponding form. The above description is thus merely illustrative of the manner in which the principles of the invention may be utilized rather than limitative, and I desire to comprehend Within my invention such modification as come within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

l. In an extrusion press having an extrusion die, an extrusion container and a power-operated ram arranged to enter the container axially, the combination therewith of a scalping die having an annular cutting surface of working diameter slightly smaller than that of the container but larger than that of the ram, said scalping die being mounted in a position between the container and that of the ram when the latter is withdrawn to its fullest extent and in coaxial alignment with both.

2. A combinatiaon according to claim l wherein the scalping die is provided with at least one billet-grooving cutter projecting inwardly within the annular cutting surface.

3. A combination according to claim l wherein a series of guide members is provided around the scalping die adapted to guide thereinto the work piece.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 383,239 Palmer May 22, 1888 1,501,081 Wilcox July 15, 1924 1,704,192 Hoagland Mar. 5, 1929 2,040,653 Hanff May l2, 1936 2,045,786 Lorant June 30, 1936 2,233,928 Weaver Mar. 4, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 531,144 Great Britain Dec. 30, 1940 546,446 Great Britain July 14, 1942 719,653 France Feb. 9, 1932 OTHER REFERENCES Ser. No. 362,833, Hanif (A. P. C.), published May 18, 1943. 

